I was knocked down on gameday when my football fever turned into an actual fever, so my upper bowl ticket turned into a planking on the couch when the Rams kicked off. And so, I missed when the Ram Rules were broadcast into the stadium.

Now I know we Rams fans have been flagrantly guilty of bad behavior -- first and foremost, not showing up -- over the last few years. But I had no idea that we had fallen into the "differently abled" category of fandom, to where we need help with these simple concepts of game attendance. It makes me wonder what else we might need help with.

• If you have purchased a ticket, you can use it to gain admittance to the stadium. I know your first impulse might be to give it to a fan of the opposing team, but please don't.

• When the man comes around yelling "Bud Light!" he actually has beer for sale. You can give him money for it. And you should, because taking beer without paying for it is wrong.

• Believe it or not, the "cap dance" shell game on the video board is not the only game going on. You are encouraged to watch the action on the field as well.

• When our team puts the ball in the other team's "end zone," that's a good thing. It's called a "touchdown" and we get points for that. I know we've confused you with all these rules about when to cheer and when not to, but in this case it's okay. If you have questions, you can always ask your neighbor, unless they're wearing one of the other team's jerseys.

I'm sure the Rams meant well, and wanted to reward their hardcore fans with some face time with this tongue-in-cheek educational video, but whatever subtlety, irony, and dry humor were implied were drowned out by the weight of embarrassment, both of the fans in attendance and the team on the field. (One wonders what the Eagles players made of this farce, and how much of a hard time they gave the Rams about it.)

Move over, "Ram It." We have a new winner in the "most embarrassing Rams video" category. Maybe. Okay, it's actually pretty close.

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The Rams had a lot of things going against them in week 1. First off they were hosting the Super Bowl contending, Vince Young anointed, Dream Team of the NFL. Secondly they were fielding a team that by all accounts and analysis was not.  As I wrote earlier this week, "Sunday matched-up a Super Bowl contender and an improved Rams squad. That is not an apples to apples comparison." So What.

Then the game started and so did the injuries.  The Rams had five starters (three 1^st round draft picks) go down and all but Sam Bradford were lost for the game. This was the readymade excuse so many media and fans needed to apologize away a bad loss. Guess what, it’s football and in a full contact-gladiator-winner take all sport injuries happen. This is why you have depth on your roster and have your best players active (Yes, that is a shot at Spagnuolo for not having Alexander & Quinn available). Did the injuries hurt the Rams chances? Sure they did, but again; So What.

Do you think the Chiefs who lost Eric Berry for the season, the Charges who lost Nate Kaeding, the Saints who lost Marques Colston or the Colts for that matter who are without Peyton Manning feel bad for the Rams? Absolutely not. And do you know why? Because THERE ARE NO EXCUSES IN FOOTBALL.

It is beyond frustrating, when one game into the season. A season that began with as much excitement, hype and optimism around the Rams in years, can all be abandoned one game in. That articles with titles such as, “Injuries and a tough schedule conspire against the Rams” can be made to trivialize and excuse the fact that the Rams played bad football and lost. The team was not sharp and did not look ready for big time football.

The Rams wanted this team. The Rams drafted and signed this team. The Rams have this team.  Will made the point that maybe losing Bradford’s safety blanket in Danny Amendola will encourage him to look downfield a bit more.  Josh McDaniels & Sam Bradford should not evoke comparisons of Pat Shumur & Keith Null.  Twice Bradford went deep against Asomugha and twice it had positive results.

As much as I like and think DX should be on this team, if you have no intent on playing him or Pettis that is two spots that can be used.  Roster decisions played as much into the loss as injuries or the opposing team.  Not activating Alexander immediately told the Eagles, "We're not even going to bother going deep."

Management opted for smarts over athletics in some areas. See Pettis & Curry over Avery & Gilyard. Quinn was deemed not ready to play. When the Rams rushed with 4 or more they came away with three sacks and a forced fumble. When they came with less…they came away with less.

My point here is decisions and play.  While football is a game of inches, those inches are earned through decisions and play. Over four quarters the sum of both ultimately adds up to either a win or a loss. No more excuses. No more talk of injuries and a tough schedule. The Rams are an improved team with higher expectations. They must and I believe they will play up to them. To excuse away a loss is doing the team disservice.

Coach Spagnuolo will not make excuses, nor will Bradford, James Laurinaitis or Steven Jackson. Why should we.

Has Robert Quinn paid his dues in full yet?

Robert Quinn's benching in week 1 remains an intriguing subplot in the Rams' 31-13 loss to Michael Vick and the Eagles, as mystified fans wonder why. I've had friends who follow other teams who wanted Quinn on draft day ask me why he went M.I.A, and I don't have much of an answer to give them.

In today's Post-Dispatch, Jim Thomas delves into the story a little further, and suggests that limitations on Fred Robbins' playing time led the Rams to activate an extra interior grinder for gameday, sacrificing Quinn's edge speed. The second rotation was made up of CJ Ah You, Eugene Sims, Darell Scott and Gary Gibson, each of whom can play inside or out. Thomas also suggests that Ah You's injury all but guarantees playing time for Quinn against Eli Manning in week 2.

But in looking back at previous Rams 1st round picks to be held out on opening day, Quinn joins some pretty bad company.

2005: OT Alex Barron inactive for games 1 & 2. Barron's benching was due to lost time in training camp after a contract holdout, but it was perhaps also a portent of his staggering lack of motivation throughout his career. Barron went from being Orlando Pace's heir apparent to becoming the team's albatross, eventually traded away for fellow first round bust Bobby Carpenter.

2003: DT Jimmy Kennedy inactive for games 1 & 2. Kennedy also lost camp time, and over his career was considered to be another player who failed to have the hunger for the game. Kennedy is still in the game, but never lived up to his draft-day billing.

Quinn didn't play any football all of last year, and he missed camp's opening weekend. Not over a contract dispute, but to there for the birth of his first son. However, the combination of that and a "tweaked" knee led to missing a full week of practices in an already abbreviated preseason. When he does play, though, he shows nice explosion and the ability to create matchup problems. Lack of time against first teamers could be a problem, though.

Time will tell if Quinn can start to realize his outstanding potential in this first year. If he does, then this will be looked back on as part of a league-wide trend. If not, then having his name mentioned with these two pariahs will not help him earn points with the fans, as he learns the game.

Brandon Gibson had one of the few positive plays of the day in the passing game, beating Nnamdi Asomugha.

The folks at Pro Football Focus have taken a look at the Rams-Eagles matchup, and the grades are about what you'd expect -- not a lot of positives anywhere on the board. However, there were some items that stood out for closer inspection. Here are a few points that I found interesting.

• The Eagles' "Wide 9" defensive alignment caused real problems for Saffold and Smith.

  Jason Smith had the worst individual grade of the game, which is not that surprising considering that he still struggles with his pass blocking technique. Having a rusher come at you from a severe angle forces you to drop back more quickly, and as Dr. Ram has pointed out, dropping back is not Smith's forte.

• About that weakside linebacker position... Leber isn't exactly owning it.

  Leber played only 29 of 71 snaps, as did Brady Poppinga, and the majority of them came on the strong side according to the PFF gradebook. They were kind not to give Leber a missed tackle on the day, as I saw at least one chance missed to take down LeSean McCoy in the backfield.

  Partly, this is a function of Spagnuolo's defense, which plays a lot of 5 and 6-defensive back alignments, bringing the outside linebackers off the field. But Chris Chamberlain was also still very involved in the linebacker rotation, a bit of a surprise considering what price the Rams spent in free agency to bring in Leber and Poppinga.

• Harvey Dahl is Jason Brown's new best friend.

  This game was Brown's first positively graded game since Week 14 of last year, and the pairing of Brown and Dahl earned the only positive grades in run-blocking for the day. 6 of Cadillac's 19 runs came through the gap between center and right guard, averaging 5.5 yards per.

• Bradford should have tested the Eagles' secondary more often.

  Nnamdi Asomugha is apparently a few steps shy of the Darth Vader reputation that he's acquired over the years. Bradford targeted him twice, and came away with a meaty pass interference call and a 31-yard completion to Brandon Gibson. The result was the worst individual game grade for Asomugha in three years. The only cornerback to grade positively for the Eagles was Asante Samuel, who Bradford appeared to target most often.

• Al Harris played only three snaps last week.

  With news that Ron Bartell's neck injury (first reported as a "shoulder stinger") will cost him the season, don't expect a lot of Harris in his stead. Justin King likely gets promoted to the starting job, and the Rams will try to get creative with their nickel packages.

Brandon Gibson had one of the few positive plays of the day in the passing game, beating Nnamdi Asomugha.

The folks at Pro Football Focus have taken a look at the Rams-Eagles matchup, and the grades are about what you'd expect -- not a lot of positives anywhere on the board. However, there were some items that stood out for closer inspection. Here are a few points that I found interesting.

• The Eagles' "Wide 9" defensive alignment caused real problems for Saffold and Smith.

  Jason Smith had the worst individual grade of the game, which is not that surprising considering that he still struggles with his pass blocking technique. Having a rusher come at you from a severe angle forces you to drop back more quickly, and as Dr. Ram has pointed out, dropping back is not Smith's forte.

• About that weakside linebacker position... Leber isn't exactly owning it.

  Leber played only 29 of 71 snaps, as did Brady Poppinga, and the majority of them came on the strong side according to the PFF gradebook. They were kind not to give Leber a missed tackle on the day, as I saw at least one chance missed to take down LeSean McCoy in the backfield.

  Partly, this is a function of Spagnuolo's defense, which plays a lot of 5 and 6-defensive back alignments, bringing the outside linebackers off the field. But Chris Chamberlain was also still very involved in the linebacker rotation, a bit of a surprise considering what price the Rams spent in free agency to bring in Leber and Poppinga.

• Harvey Dahl is Jason Brown's new best friend.

  This game was Brown's first positively graded game since Week 14 of last year, and the pairing of Brown and Dahl earned the only positive grades in run-blocking for the day. 6 of Cadillac's 19 runs came through the gap between center and right guard, averaging 5.5 yards per.

• Bradford should have tested the Eagles' secondary more often.

  Nnamdi Asomugha is apparently a few steps shy of the Darth Vader reputation that he's acquired over the years. Bradford targeted him twice, and came away with a meaty pass interference call and a 31-yard completion to Brandon Gibson. The result was the worst individual game grade for Asomugha in three years. The only cornerback to grade positively for the Eagles was Asante Samuel, who Bradford appeared to target most often.

Lance Kendricks, wide open vs the Eagles as expected. The outcome? Unexpected.

From all of us who touted Lance Kendricks as a week 1 starter, we apologize. The matchup looked good. Lance's chemistry with Sam was percolating. All he had to do was catch the damn ball. 

Kendricks was targeted 5 times, catching one. At least one of the balls he dropped could have been a touchdown, and he appeared guilty of turning his eyes to the open space before bringing the ball in. (Announcers make that into a huge deal, but how many times do they show a receiver doing that on a successful catch and run? Never. Not because it doesn't happen, but because it doesn't fit the Strunck and White guidelines for football commentary.)

Let it be known that we at least were eating our own dogfood. I started Kendricks and garnered an impressive 1.8 points for his work. If you had started Kendricks and Bradford in this league (which penalizes for sacks and turnovers), their net would have been negative. The only positive plays were Steven Jackson's injury-abbreviated day (which at least included a touchdown), Cadillac Williams (assuming anyone was crazy enough to start him), or tackle king Craig Dahl. 

So where does that leave us in Week 2? Asking a lot of questions, and benching a lot of Rams. We'll revisit the matchup with the Giants later this week in Derek's weekly Fantasy Corner, but if you're the Rams homer in your fantasy league, we feel your pain right now. 

My first thought after seeing Amendola walk off the field, cradling his arm? "Oh god, we're screwed."

Fortunately, the vultures circling around Danny Amendola appear to be backing off. At first, we heard "dislocated elbow" and I thought damn, that's a 6-week injury at least. Then, John Clayton started reporting it as a "broken shoulder," out 8-10 weeks! However, once the internet diagnosis settled on the elbow, it turns out that he could be out only a short while.

injuryexpert
@RamsHerd Depends. Can't tell wo more info. Can pop back in and be fine. Depends on soft tissue

STLouisRams
WR Danny Amendola is having MRI right now. Possible he might not need surgery but no determination on his status yet.

That said, the post-game conversation was dominated by "How do we replace Amendola???" Donnie Avery was mentioned. So was Mardy Gilyard, Terrell Owens, and TJ Houshmandzadeh. Clearly the Rams now have a glaring hole where Sam Bradford's favorite target used to be.

But you know what? Maybe that's all right. Here are a few reasons why: